New York state Sen. Brian Kavanagh is among lawmakers in Albany pushing for a dramatic increase in housing construction across New York City and the state amid ongoing budget deliberations.

During an appearance on "Mornings On 1" Thursday, Kavanagh, who represents Lower Manhattan and chairs the State Senate Housing Committee, also emphasized the need for bolstered tenant protection laws alongside housing expansion efforts.

"The state government has a long history of packaging things together so people with different perspectives get what they need, when it's time to act," Kavanagh said. "So, we are working now toward a deal — that we hope to do in the budget, which is due by March 31 — and that would include provisions to increase supply and also some tenant protections and some additional programs, including potentially vouchers that would help to ensure that people aren't paying more than they can afford to pay rent."

Acknowledging the continuing housing crisis, Kavanagh underscored the need to boost housing supply while safeguarding existing tenants.

“We do need to put provisions in place that will increase supply, but you won't see a major shift,” he said. “It's still gonna be a while before that affects the basic supply and demand, which is why we need tenant protections, and to some extent why we need rental subsidies to ensure that people aren't paying 40 or 50% of their income in rent in the meantime.”